Trout Unlimited brings conference to WNC

Trout fishermen from across the country will convene in Asheville this weekend for the Trout Unlimited annual conference Sept. 14-16.

Friday’s speakers and conference topics will focus on Trout Unlimited current initiatives and projects around the nation. Saturday will focus on major environmental issues facing the country that have implications for trout populations, with a primary focus on energy policy. Since trout need cool water to survive, global warming could affect some brook trout populations. Fracking and mining are also on the agenda.

To kick-off the conference on Thursday, a conservation tour will showcase success stories of brook trout restoration and watershed renewal.

The tour will venture to Graveyard Fields along the Blue Ridge Parkway, where a stem of the upper Pigeon hosts a healthy population of brook trout thanks to efforts to preserve the genetically-unique Southern Appalachian strain and restoration of native habitats. The tour will also stop at Lake Logan at the base of Cold Mountain in Haywood County, also a conservation success story, to enjoy a little fishing. On Wednesday, conference goers arriving early will take in some fly-fishing on local rivers, including a fishing trip on the Tuckasegee River in Jackson County and West Fork of the Pigeon in Haywood County. For more information on joining in on some or all of the programs, go to www.tu.org/events/2012-annual-meeting.